Microsoft Work Trends 2022: Wellbeing in the Spotlight

Published 06 April 2022

Author
Marta Indeka
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Microsoft has released its annual Work Trend Index, a survey gauging the expectations and attitudes of the global workforce. The findings highlight a pivotal shift in employees’ priorities, with a greater focus on wellbeing, work-life balance and flexibility as opposed to hustle culture.

Stats

18%
In 2021, 18% of global workers left their jobs
47%
Nearly half of global workers say they are now more likely to prioritise family and personal life over work than they were before the pandemic
53%
Globally, 53% – particularly parents (55%) and women (56%) – say they’re more likely to prioritise their health and wellbeing over work than before the pandemic
24%
Nearly a quarter of the people who left their job in the previous year cite personal wellbeing, mental health, or lack of work-life balance as the main reasons for quitting
19%
Less than one in five people who left their jobs in 2021 cite “not receiving promotions or raises I deserved” as a reason for quitting, illustrating a shift in priorities
1 in 4
Globally, one in four employees expect employers to provide mental health/wellbeing benefits and view them as a ‘very important’ aspect of work
38%
Globally, 38% of employees expect flexible work hours and view this as a ‘very important’ aspect of work
18%
In 2021, 18% of global workers left their jobs
47%
Nearly half of global workers say they are now more likely to prioritise family and personal life over work than they were before the pandemic
53%
Globally, 53% – particularly parents (55%) and women (56%) – say they’re more likely to prioritise their health and wellbeing over work than before the pandemic
24%
Nearly a quarter of the people who left their job in the previous year cite personal wellbeing, mental health, or lack of work-life balance as the main reasons for quitting
19%
Less than one in five people who left their jobs in 2021 cite “not receiving promotions or raises I deserved” as a reason for quitting, illustrating a shift in priorities
1 in 4
Globally, one in four employees expect employers to provide mental health/wellbeing benefits and view them as a ‘very important’ aspect of work
38%
Globally, 38% of employees expect flexible work hours and view this as a ‘very important’ aspect of work

Key Stats

Stats

18%

In 2021, 18% of global workers left their jobs

47%

Nearly half of global workers say they are now more likely to prioritise family and personal life over work than they were before the pandemic

53%

Globally, 53% – particularly parents (55%) and women (56%) – say they’re more likely to prioritise their health and wellbeing over work than before the pandemic

24%

Nearly a quarter of the people who left their job in the previous year cite personal wellbeing, mental health, or lack of work-life balance as the main reasons for quitting

19%

Less than one in five people who left their jobs in 2021 cite “not receiving promotions or raises I deserved” as a reason for quitting, illustrating a shift in priorities

1 in 4

Globally, one in four employees expect employers to provide mental health/wellbeing benefits and view them as a ‘very important’ aspect of work

38%

Globally, 38% of employees expect flexible work hours and view this as a ‘very important’ aspect of work

Microsoft Work Trends 2022: Wellbeing in the Spotlight

Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index spotlights a change in workers’ priorities

“We’ve changed in some fundamental ways in terms of how we think about life, […] about what’s important to us, and in particular, how we think about work,” Jared Spataro, corporate vice-president of Microsoft 365 and Teams, told Fast Company.

What transpires in Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index is a change in workers’ priorities. Globally, 53% of workers are now more likely to prioritise their health and wellbeing over work than they would have been before the pandemic, and nearly half (47%) aim to put a greater focus on family and personal life.

In this redefined ‘worth it’ equation – what people want from their jobs compared to what they’re willing to give – workers are acting on newfound priorities, with 18% of global workers leaving their jobs in 2021. Reasons for quitting included personal wellbeing or mental health (24%), work-life balance (24%), risk of getting Covid-19 (21%), lack of confidence in senior management (21%), and lack of flexible work hours or location (21%) (Microsoft, 2022). Inadequate compensation only ranked seventh (19%).

Furthermore, the survey assessed what employees want in a new job, besides remuneration. It found the aspects of work considered ‘very important’ are positive culture (46%), mental health and wellbeing benefits (42%), a sense of purpose or meaning (40%), flexible working hours (38%), and more than the average two weeks of paid leave per year (36%).

Microsoft is putting these findings into practice. For instance, it allows most of its global staff to work remotely up to 50% of the time without seeking permission from their manager.

 For more on post-pandemic work attitudes, see Enlightened Employers and The New Rules of Work.